Recipe | Brioches
- Amelie
- Jun 18
- 3 min read
The joys of brioche
Alex Crepy, of Amelie restaurant at Ben’s Yard on the Stuntney Estate, has another delicious recipe on brioche for us featured in this month Cambridge Independent.
I’ve never been much of a baker, if I’m honest. I’ve tried sourdough more times than I care to admit and it always ends up a bit of a mess which is a shame really, because I adore the stuff...
Marie, my fiancée, has a natural talent for baking and is currently teaching me my first bakes.
She can then pass these techniques on to our children and maybe they’ll love the idea of these skills being passed on down the generations.
The one thing I can bake though, is brioche. And I really love it. It’s different. Very French. Slightly outside the usual categories of bread.
You rarely find a good one here in the UK as they tend to be too sweet, too soft, catering for the British brunch newbie but personally I don’t think it works.
The flavours clash. I’d rather stick to a classic bun and let the sweetness come from the onions, not the bread.
But that’s another topic. This is about brioche – real brioche.
The word brioche most likely comes from the old Norman term ‘brier’, meaning to mix. It is more often than not associated with the idea of something very rich in eggs and butter. So much so that in the 17th century it was even considered a luxury.
It’s probably never said it, but it does highlight the gap between those who had access to these kinds of ingredients and those who did not.
Today’s luxe. We all know and enjoy brioche. And what I love about it is how versatile it is. Sweet or savoury, you name it.
My favourite way to eat it is warm, fresh from the oven.
During the holidays, we had a bit of time to bake.
Some of my best memories are tied to brioche. Summers spent with my grandparents in Mazamet, France.
My grandparents would come back from the bakery with two long bakes, one for the adults and one for the children. We’d eat it warm with grape preserve and all together...
The brioche was always there – a little for the butter in the morning, a slice in the afternoon, a thick heel by early evening, and it would reappear for the aperitif.
Usually, it was a little dry due to hot weather, so syrups and chutneys would have been added – and, when I was old enough, a glass of rosé alongside.
It’s not just another loaf. It’s a piece of something bigger.
Something that brings people together more than once a day. Often forgotten, but definitely not gone. Bon appétit!
Recipe: Makes 2 brioches / Feta and Basil / Olive and Anchovy
Ingredients
500g strong white bread flour
10g salt
60g caster sugar
25g fresh yeast (or easy-blend or fast-action dried yeast)
6 eggs
400g soft butter
1 egg, beaten
Feta and basil: 50g feta cheese diced and 15g basil leaves finely chopped
Olive and anchovy: 25g anchovy fillets, finely chopped and pitted green olives
Method
Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a food mixer. Break in the eggs and mix for 10 minutes.
Add the butter in small pieces and mix again for 10 minutes.
Scrape the dough off the sides and hook, cover and leave in the fridge for 1½ hours until it rises.
Fold the dough back two or three times, then cut into 2 pieces before adding flavourings of your choice (see below).
To make the feta and basil brioche: roll out the dough, 2mm thick to a rectangle and scatter with the feta and basil over the top and then roll up like a Swiss roll.
To make the olive and anchovy brioche: roll out the dough about 2mm thick to a rectangle or square. Spread the puréed anchovy fillets over the top and scatter with olives. Roll up like a Swiss roll.
Place the rolled-up dough in a greased tin, two-thirds full in height. Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for about 2 hours. Brush lightly with the beaten egg.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C, gas mark 4 for 30 minutes (use a probe: it should reach 85°C in the centre).
If it seems too dark, cover with foil. The dough is cooked when it comes out clean.
Let it cool before slicing.
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